Sod cutting attachment for garden tractors



July 28, 1953 v. LuoMA SOD CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR GARDEN TRACTORS FiledJan. 4, 1952 IN VEN TOR. VERA/El? L (IO/1A Patented July 28, 1953 UNITEDSTATES PAT N OFFICE 3 SOD CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR GARDEN TRACTORS YVerner Luoma, Eveleth, Minn. Application January 4, 1952, Serial No.264,883

. V r 1 Claim.

The present inventionerelates toa sod cutting- Y attachment for gardentractors and it consists in the combinations. constructions andarrangeof a connecting rod which is adjustably and eccentricallyconnected tractor.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a novel sodcutting attachment for garden tractors and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterset forth which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufactureand yet effective and eflicient in use.

A further object of the invention is the provision, ln a device of thecharacter set forth, of a novel blade forming a part of the invention.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the following specification taken in conjunction with thedrawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3-is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a blade andadjustable attaching means therefor which blade forms a part of theinvention,

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, partly in elevation,taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a sectional view, partly broken away, taken along line 6--6of Figure 1, s

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view along line of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of afront mounting member forming a part of the invention,

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure 8,

Figure 10 an en a g d f agmenta y Sectional with a drive shaft of thetaken view taken substantially along line m -|o of Figure 3, and 7 IFigure 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken I substantially alongline I l l I of Figure 10.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is shown therein agarden tractor generally indicated at H) and having a pair of drivewheels I! and a forwardly extending housing portion I2 from'whichprojects a drive shaft I3 which extends to a gear reduction box l4 whichis provided with a vertically extending driven shaft [5 which extendstherethrough and which terminates at its lower end in a disc l6, 1

I The disc I6 is provided with a plurality of vertically extendingopenings 1'! each of which is at a different distance from the I shaftl5 and through which isselectively extended a bolt [8 provided with anutat its upper end, as indicated at 19 and provided with a sphericalhead 20, at its lower end.

Centrally ailixed to the forward side of the housing I4 by means of aplate 2| is a vertically extending front standard 22 which is preferablyformed of angle iron and which has affixed to its lower end a plate 23.A bolt 24 is aflixed to the plate 23 and extends downwardly firstthrough a rubber buffer 25 and then through a cross bar 26, thencethrough a rubber buffer 21 and finally a plate 28. A nut 29 is threadedupon the lower end of the bolt 24. The cross bar 26 forms the forwardend of a cradle and has extending rearwardly from each side thereof aside bar 30 and has its forward ends interconnected by means of a rearcrossbar 3|. A yoke 32 is vertically adjustably mounted upon the member[2 and is provided with a-pair of dependent spaced legs 33, eachlikewise preferably formed of angle iron and which are interconnected attheir lower ends by means of a plate 34 which is interconnected with thecross bar 3| by a bolt 35 which extends downwardly therethrough andwhich has an upper rubber buffer 36 interposed between the plate 34 andthe cross bar 3! and a lower buffer member 31 interposed between thecross bar 3| and a nut 38 which is threaded upon the end of the bolt 35.

Extending upwardly from each of the side bars 30 is a vertical standard39 having a shaft 40 interconnecting the same adjacent the upper endsthereof. An inverted U-shaped blade-carrying frame 4| is swingablymounted upon the shaft 40 with its apex portion 42 lyin immediatelyabove and parallel to the shaft 40. Interconnecting the legs of theblade-carrying frame 4| adjacent their lower ends is a cross bar 43which is centrally provided with a vertically extending bolt 44 hav- AU-shaped blade is generally indicated at 49' and is provided with anapex portion 50 and a pair of upwardly extending legs 51. Each of thelegs Al is provided with a pair of vertically extending spaced slots 52and each of the legs i has extending laterally therethrough a pair ofbolts 53 which also extend through the slots 52 whereby to adjustablymount the 'blade49 which latter is sharpened upon its apex portion onlyupon the forward upper side, as indicated at 54 and for a short distanceupon both sides of each leg 5! extending upwardly from the apex portion50, as indicated at 55.

In operation, it will be apparent that the device may be quickly andeasily attached to the garden tractor i0 and that thereafter the cuttingdepth of the blade 49' may be adjusted by loosen ing the bolts 53 andvertically adjusting the blade 49 with respect to the legs 4| and theeffective depth of the cut will be gauged :by the apex portion 50thereof with respect to a transversely extending roller 56 which ismounted upon an axle 51 extending between the side members 39.

Thereafter, when the tractor is moved forwardly,

it will be apparent that the blade 49 must first engage the ground andthen travel downwardly to a depth permitted by the aforesaid adjustmentand limited by the contact of the roller 56 with the ground. As thetractor moves forwardlyv in such reciprocatory action may be regulatedby means of the selective placing of the bolt l8 in the openings 11.

While but one form of the invention has been shown and described herein,it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many minormodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A device of the character described comprising a frame, means forattaching said frame to a tractor, a supporting roller mounted in thelower end of said frame, a U-shaped blade swingably mounted in saidframe, and means for oscillating said blade, said blade being mountedimmediately rearwardly of said roller, and said means for oscillatingsaid blade including a vertical drive shaft carried by said frame, adisc mounted at the lower end of said shaft, said disc having aplurality of openings therethrough each at a different distance fromsaid shaft, a cross bar associtaed with said blade, a bolt extendingcentrally through said cross bar, a bolt selectively mounted in one ofsaid openings, and a connecting rod having ball and socket connection ateach of its ends with said bolts.

VERNER LUOMA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

